


Just a Moment

by MissFLT



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, Lots of feelings will be had, Romance, Sexting, Smut, Texting, good helping of fluff, this is my first multi-chapter fic be kind
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2019-07-27 17:56:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16224308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissFLT/pseuds/MissFLT
Summary: Rey has called in sick after an encounter with a tall, dark and handsome stranger in a rainstorm. She can't stop thinking about him, and doesn't have his number, and will she ever see him again after fireworks lit up her life?





	1. Chapter 1

Rey’s head had never felt heavier. She was on her stomach, arms at her sides, feet hanging off the edge of the bed and out of the covers, face squashed against her pillow and slightly damp from breathing through her mouth the whole night. She had never had a flu quite like this one; it had floored her and she really didn’t feel like she had the strength to move.

 

She had to though, if only to reach for her phone and send a message to Vive la Resistance that she can’t - simply can’t - come in today. She may have made more of an effort if she didn’t already know that Amilyn had Rose on call for such an eventuality. After hitting send, she assumed the same position on the bed, after turning over her cushion and lying on the other cheek.

 

It started as a scratch at the back of her throat, and then she couldn’t stop sneezing, and then the muscle cramps started. She’d been sleeping the entire weekend, hoping to sleep off the flu before Monday for work. But it didn’t look like she was going anywhere.

 

She was just lucky that Finn popped by on Saturday morning with her weekly supplies. She didn’t know what she would do without him. He worked at the green grocers and made a point of bringing her groceries for her. He owed her, he always said. She wished he would let it go; it was just a reflex action that made her grab him onto the pavement just before a bus came past. He wasn’t able to stop thanking her for it, until she suggested he deliver fresh groceries once a week. Shame, she really had to push the poor guy to accept money for the delivery.

 

She closed her eyes. How did she let herself get so sick? She guesses she hasn’t been looking after herself much - too much coffee, too little exercise, working too hard… But Rey couldn’t forego her coffee, she only had time to walk to work and back, and she always gave her all in everything she did.

 

But it really all boiled down to coming home sopping wet. She’d known being caught in a rainstorm in the middle of the night in the midst of a cold front would likely get her a sniffle or two. But it was worth it. He was worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben Solo is in trouble after meeting an extraordinary woman.

Mitaka’s was on of those places where it was easy to be anonymous. It was always busy, and offered great menu options to top it off. Ben would never have thought that he would be able to say he was a mainstay of the bar, but here he was, for the fifth time this week, sitting in the corner of the room and just being … away from Snoke and Hux and anyone who may know him, the owner of the bar excluded.

 

He usually ordered only a single drink, and sat in a dark corner, sipping slowly, just revelling in the fact that no one knew him, and maybe pretending a little that he was someone else, that he hadn’t disappointed as many people as he did. He enjoyed watching people have fun and could pretend that he was also having fun, though he would never admit that. To anyone.

 

On this particular Friday, however, he was simply not in the mood to watch others have fun. He took his regular spot and ordered his regular drink, but it wasn’t working. He had had a tough day and felt too much pressure to relax. He had decided to pay for his drink and throw in the towel for the night, making for home and perhaps reading the night away, at least until he fell asleep.

 

As he stood at the bar waiting for the cashier to ready his bill, his eyes wandered along, as though pulled by a string, to a small but bright person sitting at the end of the bar, nursing her drink and looking as though she would rather have been anywhere but here. He couldn’t help himself; he went to her.

 

She side-eyed him and looked back at her drink, and he gulped a little before greeting her. She looked straight at him then, as if daring him to do something. He was momentarily stunned - she was beautiful. Her sharp hazel eyes ripped into his soul, and the light dusting of freckles over her nose made it seem as though he was being targeted by a full weaponry system. She didn’t answer him, and he said, ‘Fancy meeting you here.’ She scrunched up her nose as she tried to work out who he was, and then snorted when she realised he made a joke - breaking his heart a little at the endearing honesty of it.

 

He wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what exactly they spoke of, but he could see she was whip-smart and quick with her tongue, meeting every one of his conversational thrusts with gusto and enjoyment. He found that instead of paying his bill and leaving, he had ordered a piña colada just to sit with her a little longer. He watched her as she talked, nibbling the inside of his cheek when his lips became too sensitive. He would never be able to say what it was that made him grab her hand and drag her onto the dance floor, but bringing on her smiles with his obvious lack of dancing talent seemed to be the most important thing he could do at the moment.

 

Oh, he was in trouble. He knew it. He was in trouble the moment she scrunched her nose and snorted. In trouble when she leaned towards him to sip from his cocktail straw and he could smell her perfume, something with deep notes that made him think of the earth and the sun. He was in trouble when she matched his poor dance moves with her own without a care in the world. He was in trouble when he suddenly blurted that he would love to walk her home.

 

He had his hands deep in his coat pockets as they walked. He was dying to touch her - anything: put his hand on her lower back, tuck that strand of hair that fell over her forehead behind her ear, hold her hand even - but resorted to scratching the seam of the pocket instead. And it was as though the gods had heard him, sending the most unexpected rainstorm their way.

 

He had a reason to touch her as he shrugged off his coat and wrapped her small form up in it. It didn’t help much - they were both absolutely drenched from the cloud burst by the time they reached her doorstep. He was a little out of breath as he smiled down at her, matching her breathlessness and putting them strangely in sync. Their hair continued the patter of the rain on the floor of her patio and they both shivered, though he wasn’t sure if he was shivering from the cold.

 

For some reason, neither said a word to each other, and just before the silence stretched into something awkward, he suddenly launched his lips at her, capturing them in what was meant to be a quick kiss but turned into something a little more desperate when she ran her tongue along the seam of his lips. He opened for her and she didn’t so much fall into his arms as he pulled her into his embrace to deepen the kiss.

 

He was in trouble for sure.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey Kanata is in trouble after meeting an extraordinary man.

Rey didn’t typically go out. Ever. But Rose had asked her to go with to some shindig on the other side of town. She had told Rose she was only going for an hour or two, but the time got longer the more drinks she had. Not to mention the tall, dark and handsome stranger who had sidled up to her at her position at the bar. She liked that he hunched a little to make up for his tall stature; she liked that he didn’t offer to buy her a drink; she liked the way his cheeks crinkled when he smiled and the way his dark - and very soft-looking - hair fell just so on his brow; she liked that he hadn’t touched her, you know, the way men do when they want to show they’re interested. All he seemed to want to do was chat, even though Rey knew that’s _not_ what his eyes and his mouth were saying to her.

All things considered, Rey had an amazing time. Especially when he finally did touch her to drag her to the dance floor. They danced to their own beat, not even following the rhythm of the music, as he twirled her around, pulled her close enough that she could smell the citrus scent of his shampoo, and smiled at her with the most endearing smirk she had ever seen.

Rey knew she was in trouble. She was in trouble the moment at the bar when he told her he was a cocktail man, proceeded to order a pina colada, and insisted she have a sip when he saw her curiosity written on her face. She was in trouble the moment the soft skin of his palm enveloped her own small hand and tugged her helpless body towards him. She was in trouble the moment he smiled through dance moves that were too awkward to be purposeful, because she realised he only cared about making her smile.

Most of all she was in trouble because he had offered to walk her home, but the rainstorm had come upon them quite suddenly, and he managed to cover her with his very large coat as they made their way through rain that pattered on the coat and moistened his heady scent around her. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the way he stared at her at her doorstep, as though he was in awe of her mascara-streaked face and hair curled from the humidity. She grinned helplessly at him, not actually caring what she looked like because at that moment she realised that if she didn’t find out who he was and how she could see him again she would never forgive herself.

She had opened her mouth to beg him for his number, but before she could, he captured her lips with his own, plump from nibbling on them all evening (she had noticed, of course). He had still not touched her and the **single point** at which they met was thrown into sharp focus as Rey opened her mouth to his, begging for him to deepen the kiss. He obliged. 

_And finally, finally, touched her_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey spend a night together. Smut alert.

Ben wouldn’t have been able to tell you how long they had been clutching each other on her doorstep, but she eventually pulled away from him. He was entirely unfocused, drowning in her, the feel of her soft lips, the warmth of her body against his, despite the rain. When his focus cleared, he realised they were both trembling, from the cold or from something else he wasn’t certain. She grinned at him and grabbed his hand, and if he didn’t think he could melt for her more, he did when she coyly asked, ‘Come upstairs?’

He nodded stupidly, dumbstruck as she dragged him along, through the entryway, up the stairs and into her apartment. Once inside, she shucked off his coat, which was somehow still draped to her form despite their earlier kissing session, and thoughtfully hung it up so it could dry. He looked around at the little place that was hers, quietly admiring her taste as she stood just in the room beyond, waiting for him. He noticed she had removed her shoes before entering the larger part of the home, and did so himself before she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her. She seemed so comfortable with him; it almost filled him with dread, because how could she be?

Before he could follow that train of thought, she had slowly raised a hand to brush some of his dripping hair from his face, approaching cautiously as though she thought he may run if she moved too fast. He noticed the slight blush on her cheeks, and felt the pressure of her other hand on his chest. He took the hand at his face into his much larger one, and kissed her palm. She pulled it away and he made an embarrassing sound at the loss of contact, but, looking at him straight in the eyes, she started to undress him. Slowly.

She pushed off the blazer he had under his coat, undid his tie, unbuckled his belt and undid the trouser button, flicked open button after button of his shirt. He felt dizzy, and realised he’d stopped breathing.

She had stopped breathing too when she looked away from his eyes to his naked chest, her little mouth making an endearing ‘o’ shape as she gripped the sides of his open shirt, clearly flustered at his chest. He couldn’t help grinning at her reaction, since he had worked hard on his body. When her eyes met his again, they were a little rounder than before. He couldn’t hold back any more.

He suddenly pulled her towards him, kissing her lips roughly and as she moaned into his mouth he lifted her up onto his hips. They ungracefully crashed into the wall as their mouths continued what was started earlier. He was holding her up with his hips as he explored her body with his hands and her face with his lips. He was impossibly hard for her, and he could feel her grinding herself up and down his length as much as she could in this position.

He pulled away from her only long enough to grunt, ‘Bedroom?’ and then grasped her ass tightly as he followed her wildly flailing arm in the general direction. He knocked over a vase with flowers and paused, looking down at it while holding her up. ‘God, I’m so so…’, he started to say, but she covered his mouth with her own and he took it for forgiveness. He stumbled into the bedroom and she started to slip, but there it was, the bed, and that’s where he landed, also on top of her unfortunately.

She laughed at him, and he hid his face in her chest before joining her. He had never felt so _connected_ , so _right_ before. She took his face in her hands and kissed him again, before - somehow - sweeping him over so she was straddling him. His mouth went dry as she pulled her dress over her head - he hadn’t even noticed she had not been wearing a bra - and he was greeted with the soft svelte skin of a goddess. 

She leaned over and kissed him along his chest, down his belly, and straight to the fly of his trousers. She looked at him, mischief written all over her face as she gripped his pants, urging him to shuck them off. She took off the trousers and the underwear, and Ben could feel his face redden. He hadn’t been naked in front of someone else in a long time, and he had always been insecure, but she made a nondescript sound of approval before taking his hard length in her hand and licking from the base to the glans. She was looking at him straight in the eyes again, and he thought he heard her whisper, _God, your cock is beautiful_ , but everything suddenly turned technicolour when she lowered her mouth around his tip. Another appreciative sound came from her as she started to slowly bob her head up and down his length, using her hand to stimulate the parts of him that didn’t fit.

His knuckles were gripping the soft duvet below him, grounding him as she gave him attention he wasn’t sure he even deserved. He had to stop her, or else their time would end. He croaked her name, and she stopped long enough for him to take a breath and pull her up to sit over his face. ‘My turn,’ he grinned.

He didn’t wait for permission before swiping his widened tongue along her lips. She tasted like the autumn rain, and she was already so wet for him that his cock twitched. She shuddered above him as licked slowly around her swollen clitoris, before plunging his tongue into her as far as he could. She gasped, letting go of her headboard, throwing her head back and leaning against his thighs. He swirled his tongue around, using the tip of his nose to gently butt her clitoris. He could feel that she was close, and maintained his rhythm, even though he wanted to pull away, if only to beg her to come for him. Maybe she read his mind, because she called out, a soft sound, as of one who either doesn’t want to wake the neighbours or has been surprised. She was grinding her mound into his face and he could swear he felt her walls clench around his tongue.

She was still leaning backwards on his thighs as she came down from her high. He brought her down with soft kisses around her hips and mons. She slowly came to, moving her body downwards and kissing him on the lips, tasting herself on him. She didn’t wait long before positioning herself where he currently needed her the most. She slid her wetness up and down his shaft and then gripped him tightly, pausing at the entrance to find his eyes. She leaned over and kissed him, sucking his tongue hard as she pushed him into her.

He couldn’t stop the groan that escaped from his throat at the feel of her walls tightly clenching around him. She had to move slowly, since he sported a large girth but he was finally fully seated in her. She felt impossibly good, and he threw his head back as far back into the pillow as was possible as he gripped her hips, trying desperately to find purchase before he let go too soon.

Rey leaned back over him, her lips trembling slightly as she pulled his chin downwards to meet his eyes with her own. She moved slowly, making little meeping sounds as she adjusted to his size. It didn’t take long for her to adapt and before he knew it she was bouncing on him, her little breasts bobbing up and down as she stared him down. Her pace was relentless and he could hardly stop himself from flipping her over and fucking her senseless. Instead he held tighter onto her hips and helped her keep her rhythm by thrusting up into her, matching her movements and keeping a close eye on her face.

She had scrunched up her eyes and he could feel her walls clamping down on him in little waves. She stilled, but Ben continued to thrust into her, and he could feel her orgasm swell around him. The sound she made as she came was a mixture of sigh and gasp and moan, and the fact that it was the word ‘Ben’ threw him over the edge, too. He planted his face under her chin as he came inside her.

They both became boneless as she moved a little to the side to place her head under his chin. Her hand made its way to his face and she looked at him as though he had just given her the world. She kissed him softly before promptly falling asleep on his chest.

Ben felt like he had never been happier as he felt himself drift off, too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey can't focus after meeting a certain someone, but something happens across the street that may put her job in jeopardy.

Rey was an absolute mess after she returned to work on Wednesday, a full two days after she had intended to return to work. No one had minded filling in for Rey’s shifts, since she was one of the most dependable waitresses at Vive la Resistance. However, they were becoming a bit annoyed at her distracted attitude.

She was mixing up orders, forgetting them entirely, staring into space while twirling a lock of her hair around her forefinger, and basically being a disaster. She had walked into the closed sliding door at least three times and forgot to lock up once before she forced herself to snap out of it. It was three days since the man of her dreams had wound up in her bed, but she couldn’t walk around as though she was a zombie.

The next day, after facing the most stern looks her coworkers had ever given her, she woke up early for her daily jog, hoping that the cold wind on her cheeks and the adrenalin would clear her head. It was _ridiculous_ that she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She’d had one-night stands before, and it was clear that her experience on Saturday was all it was. It’s not as though she had heard from him since it happened. Rey frowned as she rounded a corner. He didn’t even stay the night; she had lain beside him, in complete bliss, and then _the usual issues_ reared their heads, and she realised she couldn’t allow such a thing even if they had _obviously_ shared something special.

But then, he had left after giving her a soft kiss, a kiss that felt like forever, as she stood by her front door in her nightgown. It took her breath away. She was so elated she didn’t have a chance to ask him for his number - the second time she’d failed to do so that night. By the time she hurried down the path to ask, he was already long gone, and she was sopping wet, having slipped in a puddle from the storm that had passed by.

After her jog, she quickly freshened up at home before walking the couple of blocks to Vive. Glancing across the street, she noticed an odd red and black van parked outside the empty store across the street. She squinted at the text: First, Order. _Hmm, wonder what that could be about?_

When Rey walked into the shop, though, she was confounded to see all the staff standing at the window staring at the van as though it was the end of the world.

‘What’s going on?’ Rey asked. Nobody answered her. The only sign that they were any of them even alive was Rose’s mouth dropping open and Amilyn taking a gasp of air.

‘ **Erm, hellooo…?** ’

Rey clapped her hands, loud enough to make everyone’s head snap towards her so quickly it seemed eerie. She waved and said, ‘What’s going on?’

Amilyn Holdo, the store’s owner, uncrossed her arms and deflated before answering. ‘It’s First, Order.’

‘Yeah, I saw the truck across the road. Why is everyone staring at it as though it’s filled with the plague?’

Poe shook his head. ‘Don’t you know who these clowns are!?’

Rey raised a single eyebrow. ‘No…’

‘They’re doom for a small coffee shop like us,’ Amilyn answered for Poe. ‘It’s a franchise’.

Everyone gasped for effect, and Amilyn nodded sagely before continuing. ‘The company has unlimited resources, courtesy of Ricardo Snoke. The CME is Kylo Ren, and he’s…well…brilliant…but ruthless.

‘What’s worse, First, Order can afford to make their coffee delicious and cheap at the same time’.

Amilyn wrapped her long arms around her lithe frame again and turned to look out the window. Poe wrapped an arm around her shoulder. ‘I’m sure it will be alright, boss.’

Amilyn gave a weak smile, one that obviously meant she didn’t believe it.

‘This is ridiculous!’ Rose shouted. We can’t just give up because they showed up across the street!’ She stood on a chair, ever the dramatic one, and yelled, ‘Vive la Resistance will prevail! We have loyal customers, have the best chocolate chip cookies in town, and if First, Order has thrown down the gauntlet, I say we take it and slap them with it!’

Rey joined the others in clapping, albeit half-heartedly. She looked through the window at the van and wondered what a little coffee store like theirs could do against the likes of First, Order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I have a lot planned for this fic, and hope to update at least once a week! Kudos are joy, comments are rainbows!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben struggles to focus at work, but his friend makes a suggestion that makes him put all his chips on the table.

His odd, long face stared back at him through the streak through the condensation he had wiped off the mirror with his hand after his shower. Ben was leaning against the basin, staring at himself. It wasn’t something he usually did; he always thought of himself as balancing precariously between attractive and unusual, and preferred not to think about it too much. Tonight, he couldn’t help wondering at his reflection. It seemed off - well, more so than usual. And he thought it was probably because Rey had practically kicked him out of her place after what was possibly the most promising connection he had made in his life, and it was raising all sorts of questions.

Like, did she regret what they had done? Like, did she not find him as attractive as she thought he was when she was a little tipsy? Like, did he just get used!?

He was sure she wasn’t drunk as they stood outside her doorway. He was sure that she was a willing participant in sex that felt awfully emotional to him. She had made the most amazing sounds as she came, and her whispered words of praise _did something_ to him. He felt so connected to her, especially as he began to drift off. But she woke him with a little pat on his chest as she lay on it, stroking his belly. He was at first confused when she told him it was time for him to leave. But as she slipped away from him, taking away her warmth and wrapping herself up with a soft gown, he realised that he was no longer welcome. He tried to stall for time, retrieving his clothing and dressing as slowly as he could, but it wasn’t long before she led him by the hand to her door.

He was more confused than ever when she allowed him to kiss her softly, hoping to send all the strange emotion he felt for her through it, but he left after all.

So the most pertinent question spinning around his head was, _What was going on!?_ They had both clearly had a great time. And he might have thought she had regretted their time together except for that kiss, that very clearly reciprocated kiss, at her door. Ben looked at himself in the mirror again, and shook his head at his reflection. He didn’t know what to tell himself for his peptalk today.

Later, he trudged around the office much as he had for the last week. He had tried to concentrate on the job at hand - the launch of a small franchise store downtown - but simply could not. Antoine Snoke, his boss, was practically biting his heels for a progress report, and today was the day he was going to have to get his head out of the Rey cloud and into the real world. But he was failing miserably. 

He sat in his office, leaning back in his chair with his feet crossed on the desk and slowly spinning from side to side. The half-finished report lay on his desk as he remembered the softness of her lips, the smallness of her hips in his hands as she chased her climax, the taste of her…

The door suddenly opened with a barked ‘Ren!’ He would never admit to anyone that the unexpected entry gave him a fright, so all he did was remain twirling in his chair and placed a pensive look on his face, as of one thinking seriously about work.

‘Yes, Armitage,’ he drawled. ‘What can I do for you?’

Armitage Hux, once his competition and now someone Ben may consider a friend - mostly - was his partner in the marketing department. Whatever the other did, or didn’t do, both he and Hux were at the mercy of Snoke, who held them both accountable for each other's work. It was a strategic move on Snoke’s part to play the pair against each other, but they had caught on and were working well together, if only to get Snoke off their back.

Hux took the seat on the other side of the desk and sighed as heavily as only he could as he crossed his leg over the other, his R2-D2-printed socks peeking out below his navy tailored pinstripe trousers. 

Ben sat up and smirked. ‘Coming for fashion advice again, hmmm?’

‘Ren, you are being impossible. I have been emailing and messaging you for the last hour.’

Ben brought his eyebrows together as he leaned over his laptop. ‘Ah, yes, I see.

‘Well, I have been busy…’

‘I know very well what you have been busy with,’ Hux sneered with mirth. He peeked at the timeline, and Ben slowly moved so that he was leaning over it. ‘Ten bucks says you’re only half finished with the report and have been mooning about over that lovely shag you had the other night’.

Ben choked on his own spit, and pounded his chest before finally being able to deny it, albeit with a red face that certainly didn’t help declare his innocence.

Hux stood up and buttoned his blazer, and as he smoothed the front down, he made a suggestion that was so simple Ben could hardly believe he hadn’t thought of it himself: ‘Why don’t you just go to her place and give her your stupid number and then we can move on from this…’ Hux gestured vaguely in Ben’s direction. ‘…moping?’

He swept out of the room like a fairy godmother and Ben was out of his chair and preparing to leave before anyone could say ‘glass slipper’.

An hour later, he felt like a lost puppy waiting outside her building. He hoped she wouldn't need too much convincing to hear him out, or take his number, or, at the very least, allow him to cook her dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kudos and comments! You guys light up my life!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is questioning her motives, but gets a serendipitous surprise.

Vive la Resistance had been swept into a frenzy after Rose's rousing speech. Amylin had used her rather large list of connections to come up with some great events with the hope of attracting a new crowd and retaining their current clients. Poe had decided he would be in charge of decor, making use of party supplies he and Rose had been hoarding, while Rose decided to work on a few new culinary ideas, seeing as she was head chef. 

Rey, on the other hand, felt pretty useless. She hadn't much experience in any department that could help them. She had been waitressing at Vive for the last year as she worked through her aviation degree, and her knowledge of flight didn't help with anything remotely connected to coffee. There wasn't anything she could realistically do to help her friends, aside from give them support. 

But she did her best. She gave unending high fives, offered to help where she could, and basically sat and listened as she became a sounding board for everyone's ideas. It didn't help that she was still distracted, still felt as though she had missed something terribly important, left something life-changing behind that night as she walked Ben to the door and watched him walk away. 

She was trying to blame the feeling on the guilt she felt at being unable to really help her friends, but the memories of his face as he left, his soulful eyes boring into her, and that oh-so-soft kiss he left her with would simply not dissipate. 

She was useless. Even worse, she was a horrible person. It was a miracle that she still had Finn in her life; he was either truly stubborn or simply chose to ignore the idiosyncrasies in her personality that pushed everyone away from her. 

It wasn't easy growing up orphaned and alone. It wasn't easy being fostered by a family - getting to know them, feeling like a part of something, maybe feeling a semblance of family and love - only to be moved over and over again. That scar on her heart had been scratched and reopened so many times that she'd just tried to avoid any emotional connection. 

Finn agreed her behaviour wasn't healthy. Often she would seem to hit it off with someone, but as soon as it felt to good to be true, she made it so. It was just easier for her to push people away. She was too afraid of the pain of abandonment. 

Finn understood, as a former member of the foster system himself. But he in contrast found it easy to open his heart. He had a friend in everyone he met and his after hours schedule was always full. And Rose was just as open as he was. She also considered Poe a friend, though he was arrogant and cocky, and a little dangerous. Rey peeked over him and smiled as he balanced trays in his hands. She was lucky to have everyone. 

But so afraid. 

Rey continued wiping the tabletops clean before the end of her shift, a little dent sitting between her eyebrows as she tried to concentrate on her task. 

‘Hey, Rey!` Rey blinked. He had woken her from her reverie. She looked at his grinning face for him to say, ‘Thinking about Mr Tall Dark and Handsome again?’ He winked and Rey gasped, pretending to be insulted. 

‘Of course not, I was actually mentally listing the different flaps for my test on Monday.’

Poe crossed his arms, leaned back, and said,’Uh-huh. Whatever you say…

‘Listen, for what it's worth, if there really was something special between you two, it's not like he doesn't know where you stay.’ He shrugged. ‘If he really wants to see you again, he will. Who knows?’ Another wink.’ Maybe he'll be waiting for you when you get home today’. 

Rey could only smile at Poe's optimism. She knew there was a connection, but who would come back for her after she dismissed them so easily?

It served her right anyway. 

\---

Three hours later, Rey had visited the grocery store to get some fresh fruit and a sandwich. She also held a little potted succulent to her chest as she walked home, swinging the bag of food along her side and smiling at the thought of where she would be putting her new friend. 

The only place she had in her hole in the wall that was conducive to growing plants was the sill in her kitchen. Obviously this would be where the succulent would go, but Rey liked to imagine a balcony, bigger and greener than anything she had right now. 

She was so distracted by her reverie, making her way up the walk to her building from muscle memory that she didn't notice the tall shadow waiting under the eaves, and dropped her bag and almost the potted plant too when the shadow suddenly stood up and said, a little too loudly, ‘Hey.’ 

Rey's survival instincts kicked in and she threw the pot at the man, and paled when she saw who deftly caught it in a large hand before smiling at her. 

Ben said, ‘Good arm!’ He sobered at her expression. ‘Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.’ 

Rey clutched at her chest before doubling over and laughing, Ben standing confusedly halfway off the porch. She didn't know if it was because she was relieved she didn't need to fight or because Ben was really here - Poe must be a prophet. She looked up at him and grinned. 

‘Don't surprise me like that,’ she giggled. ‘I could have killed you!’

‘Not unless your potted plant was really a grenade in disguise,’ Ben deadpanned. 

Rey looked at him sheepishly. ‘I guess not.’

They just looked at each other for a while, neither very certain what should happen next. It was Ben who took a step toward her first, holding out the plant. 

Rey took a step as well. ‘Good catch, by the way.’ 

Ben smiled. ‘Well, it's certainly a talent you helped uncover today!` 

Rey looked at him in the silence that followed. His raven hair was so dark it looked blue in the afternoon sun, and he looked like he was shining with light. She suddenly decided to close the distance between them and took the plant from his outstretched hand. 

She clutched it close to her solar plexus, protecting the spot where rejection hurt the most looking down to the ground, she asked, ‘Did you forget something at my place?`

She looked up at him then, waiting for him to announce that he'd lost a cufflink or something, but she couldn't look away from his eyes as she saw his hand rise up in her peripheral vision, and felt it stroke a strand of hair behind her ear, and see him bend down a little to whisper softly, ‘Yeah, I did. 

‘You.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas, I am without a beta, so any errors and inconsistencies are my own. Thank you so much for reading! Would love a chat if you'd like to leave a comment!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does Ben's impromptu cooking evening with Rey go?

It was absolutely nerve-wracking sitting and waiting under the eaves of Rey’s building. Ben had worked himself into a frenzy, twisting the handles of the food bags between his hands, second-guessing himself at every turn, and he felt like his heart was lost in a labyrinth of possibilities. What if she really wasn’t interested in him? What if she was? What if he looked like an absolute stalker, standing outside her door in the shadows? What if he scared her off? What if all she did when she saw him there with his bags of food was look on him with pity?

He was clutching the handles of the bags so hard his knuckles had gone white, and he only realised his nails were digging into his hand when his grip loosened upon seeing Rey walking down the path. The slight pain in his palm disappeared as he watched her, swinging her own bag and smiling softly to herself as she watched the path she was walking on. A vague thought of how inadequate his cooking plan was was overridden by the fact that she was so beautiful - well, he knew she was beautiful before, but in the golden afternoon sunlight, she was radiant. The sun striking her hair seemed to give her a halo, and Ben was holding his breath.

She slowed as she approached the eaves, obviously spotting him lurking in the shadow. He put the bags down and stood up with a ‘Hey’ that was so loud it even made him grimace. He was more than surprised that he caught the little pot she had thrown at him, at the stranger waiting in the darkness, but he couldn’t help smiling at her survival instinct.

He had hoped she would warm up to him when she saw who it was, and was relieved when she laughed about the pot. But there he caught something in her eyes, before she looked at the ground and asked him if he’d forgotten something. Being honest with her came so naturally, though, and he could do nothing but tell her - in a roundabout way - how he felt about her.

He was stunned at the smile on her face when she looked up at him again. It was really something else, and he could hardly move, his hand still floating in the air along her face. Rey cleared her throat slightly, and he suddenly moved away from her, pushing his hands into his pockets.

He cleared his throat as well. ‘I see you’ve already been to the store. Um…’ He raked one of his hands through his hair before replacing it in a pocket. ‘I hope I’m not being too presumptuous, but I kind of bought ingredients for dinner and was hoping…’

He looked at her, and her expression was so open he was encouraged to continue: ‘…to make dinner for you. Do you like Thai?

‘But if you’d rather have what you bought that’s also okay…’

Rey was still smiling at him, saying nothing as he continued to blabber.

‘... And I can leave if …’

Rey walked up to him before he could finish, and hooked her free hand through his elbow.

‘I love Thai.’ She laughed then, a sneaky expression lighting up her eyes. ‘But I don’t believe you can really make it.’

Ben’s jaw dropped open, but he recovered enough to say, ‘Challenge accepted!’

\--

Their shoes were endearingly nestled alongside each other in Rey’s hallway, and Ben had taken a fair amount of time admiring the room that he had only glimpsed on their first night together. It was bathed in the afternoon light, and the lemon colour of the walls made it look even warmer. Rey put her new succulent among the others on the north-facing kitchen window, pushing some aside to make space. He had emptied the bag of ingredients on the table after she had welcomed him into the kitchen area, taking out crockery she thought he may need. He was now slicing the onions, but she was fiddling around, perhaps feeling a little uncomfortable with his presence, before standing still and looking out the window. Ben shifted his jaw at the awkward tension that had suddenly come over the room, and was about to come up with a suave comment to break it when Rey suddenly turned.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

He stopped his hand in mid-slice, looking up at her through hooded lashes. _Please don’t change your mind. Please don’t chase me away_. He cleared his throat, hoping she thought the shine in his eyes was only due to the onion. ‘For what?’

‘I…’ she tugged at the sleeve of her shirt. ‘I’m not very good at this…’ She gestured vaguely around the room.

Ben put the knife down, and leaned against the counter for some support before moving to pack the ingredients back in the bag. ‘I can go…’ he started to say, but she moved forward and stilled his hand.

‘No, that’s not what I mean.’ She smiled. ‘I’m happy you’re here. And… I don’t want you to go.’

‘What are you apologising for then?’

‘Well, for the other night. For…’ she shifted from one foot to another. ‘…chucking you out.’

‘I would have chucked me out, too,’ he said, trying to make whatever she was doing easier for her.  
She smiled shyly, but continued, ‘I’m not good at...’ She shook her head. ‘…whatever this is, that we might have.

‘I have, well, trust issues, I guess.’ She frowned, before saying, ‘But you came back anyway.’

Ben busied himself with the food, because her admission was so raw, and he didn’t want her to know he had the same problems. Not yet, at least. ‘To be honest,’ he started, trying to be as nonchalant as possible despite the content of his next phrase, ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about you.’

When Ben was greeted with silence, he quickly looked up from the cutting board, spotting what appeared to be a shine in her eyes. But it could have been the onions at work. Again.

‘Thank you,’ Rey said, so softly Ben wondered if he had imagined it.

There was a sniff from her side of the kitchen, before she suddenly scooted up next to him. ‘So, what can I help with?’ she asked, her mood suddenly lifted.

Her close proximity caused goosebumps to erupt along his arms. He cleared his throat again. ‘Well, I’m just making a red curry…’ He looked up at her sharply. ‘Is that okay?’

She grinned. ‘Perfect. But make it hot.’

‘I hope I brought enough chillies,’ he smiled, as he poured a packet-full on the cutting board. Rey laughed.

\---

They sat together on Rey’s very soft couch. She laughed at the way he sunk into it and they were suddenly so comfortable with each other. It was as if Ben’s butt had already made a dent in her couch, he felt he belonged so well.

They had chatted, and then decided to play 20 questions, just to get to know each other a bit better.

Ben volunteered to be the first to be questioned, and he was surprised at the ease he felt answering her, even on the more difficult subjects, like his parents. She had asked if he had any family.

He nodded as he gulped down his chopstick-full of curry. ‘My mom, my dad, my uncles.’

He frowned. ‘We’re kind of estranged at the moment, though.’

Rey didn’t even bother swallowing down her food, and asked through full cheeks, ‘How come?’

‘It’s complicated. My parents own Skywalker Tea and Coffee? A small store near the edge of town?’

Rey was watching him, obviously oblivious. ‘I don’t really get a lot of time to get out,’ she shrugged. ‘But go on.’

‘Well, they - my dad, mostly - wanted me to take over the business, but I wasn’t really interested in a small dinky company, especially after I finished my marketing degree. I had been offered a position at a really prestigious organisation with great prospects. I accepted.

‘Suffice it to say he wasn’t pleased; I know he was probably overreacting, but he said he didn’t want to see me again.’

Rey gasped. ‘I’m so sorry!’ She clasped his free hand with hers. ‘That must be difficult to deal with.’

Ben tried to shrug it off. ‘I guess.

‘But at least I have my job.’ He looked at her, and though he could see she didn’t believe that made everything okay, Rey simply nodded. _Why does she not judge me?_

When she asked him about his friends, he told her about Armitage. ‘We were both fresh graduates, and my boss thought it would be beneficial to set us against each other.

‘Needless to say, our battles weren’t pretty… We disliked each other for a long time.’

Rey’s interest was written all over her raised eyebrows. ‘And? What happened!?’

Ben laughed, and continued. ‘Well, it was about two years into our battle when I noticed Armitage wasn’t as focused as usual. I often popped into his office just to annoy him, and it worked before - his face would go so red! - but he was just moping.’

‘It was a girl, wasn’t it?’ Rey remarked.

Ben laughed. ‘How did you know?’

‘It’s always a girl. Go on!’

‘Okay. It was our company chef. She’s a pretty lady, skinny as a rake and nearly taller than me…’

‘That’s tall!’

‘...but she didn’t know Armitage even existed. He told me he had been in the cantina every day for two months and had tried to talk to her but couldn’t work up the nerve.’

‘And you set them up!?’

‘Okay, now this is just getting weird, Rey,’ Ben laughed.

At his use of her name, she blushed. He leaned forward, bowl in hand, with the intent of kissing her blushing cheek, but struggled. He couldn’t get out of his spot.

‘Your couch is eating me!’ he complained into Rey’s cheek as moved closer to kiss him instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments, and for reading! Let me know what you think of this latest instalment!

**Author's Note:**

> You're amazing for reading! I would love your input, so please leave a comment, or a simple kudo will be amazing! Also note that I don't have a beta, so all errors and inconsistencies are my own.


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